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Networking - Will This Work??

I am currently networked with my linksys hard-wired router to my HR20 and everything works fine (internet, music, pics)....here's what I want to do:

buy a linksys wireless router WRT54G? and use the existing line that goes to my HR20 and Uplink the wireless router and place it next to my HR20....then I would simply plug another hard wire from the Wireless router to my HR20....does this sound like it will work??

I use a Netgear wireless router and merely connected my HR20 to an unused port with Cat5. WMP found the tuner and everything works as it should. It seemed too easy, but it works. Nothing else with the router was easy to set up when I bought it and my laptop. Sounds like you should be good to go, my sister uses a Linksys wireless with an HR20, connected easily as well.

I am currently networked with my linksys hard-wired router to my HR20 and everything works fine (internet, music, pics)....here's what I want to do:

buy a linksys wireless router WRT54G? and use the existing line that goes to my HR20 and Uplink the wireless router and place it next to my HR20....then I would simply plug another hard wire from the Wireless router to my HR20....does this sound like it will work??

I am not sure if I understand you correctly or not. You currently have a router without wireless with a line that goes to your HR20 correct? You want to add wireless to your network? It can be done, but you really don't want 2 routers on your network. That sounds like what you will have, unless I am missing something.

I guess my question is, if you a hook it up like you said, "take your existing line into the uplink of the wireless router", what is on the other end of this line? It sounds like maybe you really want a switch instead of a router at your HR20, (assuming you need more network ports by your HR20) and if you want wireless, replace your current hard-wired router with a wireless router. If you can give a few more details, I will be able to give you some definite advice.

I am not sure if I understand you correctly or not. You currently have a router without wireless with a line that goes to your HR20 correct? You want to add wireless to your network? It can be done, but you really don't want 2 routers on your network. That sounds like what you will have, unless I am missing something.

I guess my question is, if you a hook it up like you said, "take your existing line into the uplink of the wireless router", what is on the other end of this line? It sounds like maybe you really want a switch instead of a router at your HR20, (assuming you need more network ports by your HR20) and if you want wireless, replace your current hard-wired router with a wireless router. If you can give a few more details, I will be able to give you some definite advice.

Here is my setup: I have a hard wired 4-port router in my basement with 3 ports going to computers and one port going to my HR20....I want to add a wireless router because my wife wants to move her office from the basement to the 2nd floor of my house....my HR20 is on the main level (between the two)....instead of replacing the hard wired router in my basement with the wireless router, I thought it would be easier to just connect the line that's going to my HR20 to the new wireless router and place the wireless router on the main level of my house. I could then just send a hard wired line from the wirless router to my HR20, since it will be right next to it....I can keep all of the hard wired computers in the basement the same and have the wireless on the main level with better range to the 2nd floor and outside on my deck. Is there a better way to do this? Should I just replace the hard-wired router with the wireless and be done with it? Does the wireless router also have hard-wire capability so I don't lose internet speed?

The key thing to remeber is that a Router had a firewall in it. This means that the HR20 will not be able to see the PC's on the other side of the Wireless router. It should still be able to get to the internet but if you share data off the PC's on the other router they will not be seen by the HR-20

Most routers will let you turn off DHCP and the firewall. If you want to go with this configuration. I would suggest turning off DHCP and the firewall on the Wireless router. That would turn the router into just a switch. Also the line coming from the other rounter should go into one of the lines and not the wan port. That should do the trick

The key thing to remeber is that a Router had a firewall in it. This means that the HR20 will not be able to see the PC's on the other side of the Wireless router. It should still be able to get to the internet but if you share data off the PC's on the other router they will not be seen by the HR-20

Most routers will let you turn off DHCP and the firewall. If you want to go with this configuration. I would suggest turning off DHCP and the firewall on the Wireless router. That would turn the router into just a switch. Also the line coming from the other rounter should go into one of the lines and not the wan port. That should do the trick

I haven't purchased the wireless router yet, it sounds like a switch is what I really need....do they make "wireless" switches?? What I basicaly want to do is add some type of wireless signal to get to my wife's computer so I dont' have to run a line.....do wireless routers also allow you to run hard wired lines? If that's the case, sounds like the best thing to do would be to simply replace my hard wired router with a wireless one, hook up the exact same hard wired lines and have the wireless for the upstairs.

I haven't purchased the wireless router yet, it sounds like a switch is what I really need....do they make "wireless" switches?? What I basicaly want to do is add some type of wireless signal to get to my wife's computer so I dont' have to run a line.....do wireless routers also allow you to run hard wired lines? If that's the case, sounds like the best thing to do would be to simply replace my hard wired router with a wireless one, hook up the exact same hard wired lines and have the wireless for the upstairs.

If they do make a wireless switch, it would most likely be very difficult to locate one. Try to find a router on ebay to cut your cost. Make sure if you do purchase a used one that it does not have hacked/third party firmware on it. After the purchase, reload the firmware from the manufacturer to make sure nothing funny is in the router.

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3/98

You should be able to configure the router to perform the switch and access point functions without doing further routing.

I've set up Linksys routers this way by simply using the wired ethernet switch connectors and then manually configuring the wireless access.

The main problem you'll need to watch out for is making sure that the new router doesn't have an IP conflict with the existing one. Typically, the Linksys router is factory set for 192.168.1.1.

If the default IP conflicts with something else on the network, you'll need to get around that.

The way to do that is to connect the router to a PC and manually configure an IP on the PC that matches the router's IP range so that you can log onto it to reconfigure it.

Setup the PC's (or laptop's) IP as 192.168.1.6, for example. The subnet mask will default to 255.255.255.0 and leave the default gateway and DNS blank as they won't be needed.

Connect the router to the PC using one of the switch ports, not the Internet port.
Start up your browser and type 192.168.1.1 into the address bar and hit Enter.

The default logon will be a blank username and the password is admin.

Once logged in, assign a static IP to the router and disable the DHCP server functions on it. Make sure the static IP is beyond the range of other IP's already assigned by the other router, but still in the proper subnet. For example, set it to 192.168.1.200 with a mask of 255.255.255.0.

If the router is setup in Gateway Mode, change it to router mode.
It won't perform router functions, because the WAN posrt isn't connected.
It will perform as a LAN Switch and Access Point.

Setup your wireless, encryption, etc. and you're good to go.

Your HR20 will connect and the AP will handle the laptop.
Don't forget the reset the PC back to DHCP.

If it has any problems, reboot it.

If you do have problems, call Linksys and they'll walk you through the setup. Just be clear about what you're doing.
Tell them you want to use it only as a switch and access point.

I personally would say, just replace the current router in the basement with a wireless router. Nearly all wireless routers come with 4 switch ports on them. That would be the easiest solution. All of the other mentioned solutions would work, but unless you are really a "network guru" then you might get stuck on how to turn off DHCP and all of that. That would be my opinion although some of the above posts will certainly work, it just depends how comfortable you are with networking and how much you want to mess with it to get it setup. I personally prefer to go with the simple setup. Plus, the less devices you have on your network, the easier it will be to troubleshoot if something goes wrong.

You can disy chain as many routers as you want as long as they have different sets of ip ranges. However in your case it doesn't make any sense. Just go get you a wireless N1 router. I use the belkin N1 router and On my laptop which has a g card i can connect from two blocks away. If you have problems connecting you can always buy range extenders to place throughout the house to improve signal.